natural medicine ….medicina natural

Traditional medicine (TM), variously known as ethno-medicine, folk medicine, native healing, or complementary and alternative medicine, is the oldest form of health care system that has stood the test of time. It is an ancient and culture-bound method of healing that humans have used to cope and deal with various diseases that have threatened their existence and survival.

Prior to the introduction of the cosmopolitan medicine, TM used to be the dominant medical system available to millions of people in South Africa in both rural and urban communities. Indeed, it was the only source of medical care for a greater proportion of the population (Romero-Daza, 2002). There are strong indications that traditional health care systems are still in use by the majority of the people not only in South Africa but across the world. In South Africa, the healers are variously addressed as Nyanga (Cook, 2009). In indigenous South African communities, the traditional doctors are well known for treating patient holistically. They (the traditional doctors) usually attempt to reconnect the social and emotional equilibrium of patients based on community rules and relationships (Hillenbrand, 2006) unlike medical doctors who only treat diseases in patients. In many of these communities, traditional healers often act, in part, as an intermediary between the visible and invisible worlds; between the living and the dead or ancestors, sometimes to determine which spirits are at work and how to bring the sick person back into harmony with the ancestors. However, the arrival of the Europeans marked a significant turning point in the history of this age-long tradition and culture.

Discourses about the impact of colonialism in Africa are clouded by a mixture of ‘fortune’ and ‘agony’. Some scholars are of the opinion that the process of modernization in Africa is intrinsically connected with foreign intervention. For example, Curtin (1998) argues that the period between 1840 and 1860 marked a significant and rapid innovation in tropical medicine, particularly, the invention of quinine to stem the scourge of malaria in the most endemic region of the world. From this point of view, the institutionalization of the modern health care system can, therefore, be seen as one of the many ‘legacies’ of Western encroachment in Africa. On the contrary, there are those who believe that Western invasion was/is a set-back in the process of development in Africa (Afisi, 2009) particularly in ‘modes of knowledge production’ (Taiwo, 1993). These scholars mention slavery, capitalism, colonialism and imperialism, neo-colonialism and all forms of dominations and exploitations that were/are embedded in these epochs as major stumbling-blocks in the actualisation of indigenous African development. Indeed, the current political and socio-economic crises in Africa are attributed to colonialism and its attributes.

Similarly, while some critics of colonialism have focused on the economic and political impacts, others have shifted attention to the impact of colonialism on indigenous knowledge of medicine (Konadu, 2008). This became manifested in South Africa during the Apartheid regime. According to Hassim et al. (http://www.alp.org.za):

…a century of colonialism, cultural imperialism and apartheid in South Africa have held back the development of African traditional health care in general and medicines in particular. During several centuries of conquest and invasion, European systems of medicine were introduced by colonizers. Pre-existing African systems were stigmatized and marginalized. Indigenous knowledge systems were denied the chance to systematize and develop.

In some extreme cases, TM was out rightly banned because it did not follow in the European mind scheme. For instance, the South African Medical Association outlawed traditional medical system in South Africa in 1953 (Hassim, et al. n.d). In addition, the Witchcraft Suppression Act of 1957 and the Witchcraft Suppression Amendment Act of 1970 also declared TM unconstitutional thereby disallowing the practitioners from doing their business in South Africa (Hassim et al. n.d.). The ban of TM was partially based on the belief that the conception of disease and illness in Africa was historically embedded in “witchcraft” where, in Western knowledge, witchcraft reinforces “backwardness”, “superstition” and “dark continent”. However, recent studies have shown that etiologies of illnesses in Africa are viewed from both natural and supernatural perspectives (Bello, 2006). The subjugation of TM continued in most African countries even after independence. Indeed, local efforts were initiated to challenge the condemnation and stigmatisation of TM in some African communities during and after colonialism.

According to Mander et al. (2007: 190) among South African black population, TM “is thought to be desirable and necessary for treating a range of health problems that Western medicine does not treat adequately”. Furthermore, inadequate accessibility to modern medicines and drugs to treat and manage diseases in middle and low income countries, especially in Africa, may have contributed to the widespread use of TM in these regions especially in poor households. In a recent study by the World Health Organization and Health Action International (HAI) in 36 low and middle-income countries, drugs were reportedly way beyond the reach of large sections of the populations (Cameron et al. 2008: 6). Therefore, the widespread use of TM in Africa can be attributed to its accessibility. For instance, the ratio of traditional healers to the population in Africa is 1: 500 compared to 1:40 000 medical doctors. Indeed, majority of medical doctors available in Africa are concentrated in urban areas and cities at the expense of rural areas. Therefore, for millions of people in rural areas, native healers remain their health providers. Besides accessibility to traditional healers, TM provides an avenue through which cultural heritages are preserved and respected. Indeed, TM practice is in line with the socio-cultural and environmental conditions of the people who use it in Africa and other parts of the world (this is the same phenomenon I described in Ecuador).

There are certain problems and challenges to be overcome in order to fully achieve the objective of regulation, standardization and integration of TM in Africa. First, is a general belief in medical circle that TM defies scientific procedures in terms of objectivity, measurement, codification and classification. This skepticism takes place even when physical benefits of TM (i.e. the physical ingredients) can be scientifically studied and analyzed. Second, the widespread reported cases of fake healers and healing (this is not limited to TM practice only) but heavily influence people’s perception of the reliability of alternative medicine. Finally, the acceptance of Western religion, education, urbanization and globalization phenomena in Africa is affecting the use of TM. Feierman (2002) has noted a ‘passionate ambivalence’ towards African TM and plants in some segments of the African populations particularly among the educated elites. Introduction of Western culture particularly into rural parts of Africa has had a tremendous negative impact on the role traditional medicine plays. As Western education, Christianity and increased contact with the global community become an integral part of rural communities, taboos, traditions and customs have been affected and in some instances abandoned altogether.

Today

However, recently the people of South Africa (differently from what I saw in Cuenca) are embracing natural medicine at the situational level. Natural medicine is a popular and reputable career at the national university, The University of Cape Town, natural healing centers having being gaining popularity over the country as Medical Aid (the government subsidize health insure) started covering this 3 years ago. From what I have been able to gather, the people of Cape Town are disappointed with the short comings of western medicine and looking for alternatives. They are exploring teas and alternative medical treatment that have studies backing their effectiveness such as the Weber Medical Laser Clock/Watch, Ozone Therapy, and Beemer Therapy. How this change in perspective will shape the medical landscape of South Africa…well it is still too early to tell. I can only say that they are addressing a rising problem. Traditional medicine, especially, in the treatment of cancer is a process that fills the body with deathly chemicals that cause many side effects. But, maybe there is another way to heal the body when something has gone wrong, maybe there is something our ancestors told us but the Europeans did not want to listen.

The Bo-Kaap neighborhood of Cape Town has a rich and multicultural history. Formally known as the Malay Quarter, the district is rooted in Malaysian, African, Indian and Sri Lankan culture, largely a result of the descendants of the slaves who were brought over by Dutch imperialists in the 16th and 17th centuries.